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Health Articles

Posted on
April 25, 2017
by
Tracy J. Yellen

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation (Health Foundation) is partnering with the City of El Paso and El Paso Water to build a linear trail on the Playa Drain from Ascarate Park to Riverside High School. The Playa Drain Trail will offer opportunities for recreation and physical activity (walking/biking) for use by residents throughout the region and as an alternative to driving for near-by residents, and is part of the Health Foundation’s commitment to making active living the easy choice in our region.
The Playa Drain Trail project is possible because of the creativity and coll…

Posted on
March 1, 2017
by
Enrique Mata

March is a time in the school year when kids see increased benchmark tests, tutoring and other activity in preparation for state tests. This can be a stressful time for children, youth, teachers and parents. Any child can suffer from text anxiety.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), test anxiety can lead to symptoms such as: headache, nausea, diarrhea, difficulty concentrating, negative thoughts, and feelings of anger, helplessness and disappointment. The causes of test anxiety include:

Posted on
February 24, 2017
by
Michael Kelly

What qualities do successful families, companies, schools, clubs, churches, governments, and other institutions have in common? This question is important to answer because if such qualities can be discovered then taught, learned, and practiced, society would benefit from a network of more successful institutions.

I have the good fortune of working with many successful people, so I asked them to help me answer the question. Their responses included: good communication, being empathetic or caring, acting ethically, and working as a team. Others cited being committed to a common goal …

Posted on
January 3, 2017
by
Tracy J. Yellen

Philanthropy can play a substantial role in the development of a healthy community.

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation was established 21 years ago from the sale of Providence Memorial Hospital to Tenet Healthcare Corporation for $130 million. This significant transaction established the Health Foundation as one of the largest private foundations on the U.S.-Mexico border with a central mission: to lead, leverage and invest in initiatives, programs and policies to promote health and prevent disease in the Paso del Norte region.

Posted on
January 2, 2017
by
Jana Renner

Parents concerned about their teens attending large underage drinking parties will soon breathe a little easier. On December 6th, 2016, El Paso became the first city in Texas to adopt a civil Social Host Ordinance. The ordinances hold adults accountable for providing an environment where underage parties take place. They have shown to reduce the number of large underage drinking parties in communities that adopt and enforce them.

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation commissioned a status report on underage drinking in El Paso this year. What we found is that alcohol is the leading dr…

Posted on
December 9, 2016
by
Bianca De León

What do you get when you take 13 rural communities, 12 youth-serving organizations, and more than 1 million hours of youth activities? You get more than 8,000 youth who have a safe place to go after school, a trusted adult in their lives, and a space where they can explore, learn, and have fun.

The goal of the IGNITE Initiative at the Paso del Norte Health Foundation is to improve a range of health outcomes by engaging disconnected youth in out of school programs in the Paso del Norte region. The Health Foundation has invested more than 3 million dollars in youth-serving nonprofit organ…

Posted on
October 10, 2016
by
Leah Whigham

Although economic times seem to have improved since the Great Recession, many people still struggle to make ends meet. One measure of this is food insecurity - limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.

Nationally, food insecurity has come down in the past 2 years. Data from 2014 show food insecurity in the US at 15.4%. El Paso fared better at 11%. However, if we consider data from households with children, food insecurity rates in El Paso climb to 25.5%, well above the US rate of 20.9%. To think that more than 1 in 4 of the children living in our county does not …

Posted on
September 19, 2016
by
Enrique Mata

Some have said that El Paso organizations do not collaborate well. In fact, a 2014 assessment of the El Paso behavioral health system showed ‘the biggest challenge confronting El Paso’s behavioral health system was fragmentation and lack of program collaboration.’ Over the past 24 months, I’ve witnessed exactly the opposite as the El Paso Behavioral Health Consortium partners came together at all levels to address known gaps in the mental and behavioral healthcare system.

Posted on
July 4, 2016
by
Jana Renner

The smoking landscape has changed in the past five years. The good news is that youth smoking rates are down. The proportion of middle and high school students in the U.S. that regularly use cigarettes is below 10 percent. Years of comprehensive tobacco control prevention efforts have led to this decline in smoking rates. Cigarette marketing has been banned for decades, and many communities, like El Paso, are protected by Clean Air ordinances.

Big Tobacco has found ways to counter these decreases in smoking. The use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), more commonly kno…

News

February 15, 2018

Students at Ysleta Independent School District (YISD) are leading a more healthy and active lifestyle these days, due to the coordinated approach of students, campus staff, and student families that are learning the Coordinated Approach To Child Health or CATCH program. With support from the Paso del Norte Health Fo…